bit of a strange one this week; luk thung ล้านนา (lanna), from far up north. this singer, phensi phongsi, is a real unknown.. she sings in the northern thai or คำเมือง (kham mueang) language, which is very unusual to hear in luk thung. i found this cassette in chiang mai, in a dark musty old tape shop that almost certainly had not updated its inventory since the early 90's at the very latest. the cover seemed to me to advertise the presence of a ซอ (so) fiddle, but what we've got is something of an album-length medley of popular luk thung melodies over a drum kit & sax-driven molam-influenced groove. i'm not complaining!

this week, some great isan groove from the one & only dao bandon! dao was born and raised in yasothon province, the son of poor farmers. after 4th grade, his family couldn't afford to continue sending him to school, and he was given into monkhood. it was here that he realized his significant vocal gifts, by way of the rhythmic chant & preaching required by his vocation. he was soon discovered by songwriter thepphabut satirotchomphu, who guaranteed him a career as molam when he left the monastery. dao soon gave up his robes, and theppabhut made good on his promise.. dao quickly won success singing his luk thung-influenced molam, and would in fact become the first molam ever to sell one million copies! he was frequently in the charts both with his own recordings and with songs he crafted for his many disciples (one of whom won a spot on this album!). a major figure in the music of isan, dao bandon now sings for you! enjoy!

this week, it's luk thung veteran pong prida with his great high tone and delightful whistle. born in khon kaen province in isaan, pong grew up studying carpentry but secretly harbored ambitions to become a singer like his idol, somyot thasanaphan. eventually he dropped out & made the trip to bangkok, where he auditioned for many groups (including somyot's) but was denied from all. following this failure, he went back & forth between working factory jobs, boxing, and monkhood, all the while desperately sticking to his dream. his tenacity caught the sympathy of nakhon thanomsap (the entertainer best known for his blackface character, "gungadin"), who took him under his wing & got him spots on records, playing khaen or whistling for stars like suraphon sombatcharoen. in a short while he would be recording his own tunes and touring the nation! in time he returned to isaan, where he formed a group which performed locally in udon thani and across the border in laos, before settling down as a farmer. here now are his sad songs, for you to enjoy!

enchanting songs of thailand

a collection of great music made by the people of thailand; luk thung, luk krung, molam, regional folk styles & more. mostly recorded from tape, sound quality should be pretty good (unless stated otherwise). transliteration is done using the royal thai general system of transcription. feedback/re-upload requests/etc. always appreciated!